Improved budding-knife



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

EDWARD D. GIRD, OF CEDAR LAKE, NEW YORK, AND RICHARD GIRD, OFHEALDSBURG, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORS TO THEMSELVES, AND THOS. J. BEDVELL,OF HEALDSBURG, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVED BUDDING-KNIFE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,328, dated February4, 1862.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD D. GIRD, of Cedar Lake, in the county ofHerkimer and State of New York, and RICHARD GIRD, of Healdsburg, in thecounty of Sonoma and State of California, have invented a new andImproved Budding-Knife; and we do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the sam e, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, inwhich-` Figure l is a front view of our invention, with some of theblades in an open state; Fig. 2, an enlarged detached view of the bladeby which the buds are cut from the limbs; Fig. 3, an edge View of thesame; Fig. 4, an enlarged detached side view of the blade by which thecut is made in the stock to receive the bud. Fig. 5 is an enlargeddetached perspective view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

The object of this invention is to obtain an implement by whichtrees maybe budded or inoculated with far greater facility and with inuch greatersuccess than hitherto.

The invention consists in the employment i or use of a blade or cutterprovided with curved portions for the purpose of cutting the buds fromthe limb, and also in the. employment or use of a T-shaped cutter forthe purpose of making the incision in the stock to receive the bud, ashereinafter fully shown and described.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct ourinvention, we will proceed to describe it.

A represents a knife, the handle of which may be constructed in thelusual way for pocket-knives. This knife is provided with a large blade@,which may be of the same form as the large blade of pocket-knives andarranged in the handle in the ordinary Way.

B is a blade which has a series of curved portions l) of differentsizes. These curved portions are sections or segments of a circle andare designed to correspond to differentsized limbs from which the budsare to be cut. The construction of this blade Will be fully understoodby referring to Figs. 2 and 3.

C C C are three blades, which are fitted in the handle in the ordinaryway. These blades have their main parts c shaped like the small bladesof an ordinary pocket or pen knife, and each of these blades is providedat its point with a curved spur cl, which is shown clearly in Fig. 5.The spurs CZ are attached centrally to the ends of their blades, theirconcave sides being outward, as shown clearly in Fig. 5, the spurs andthe ends of their blades being of T form or approximately thereto. Thespurs cl are forged on the ends of the blades C C C. The blades C C Care all provided with similar spurs d, merely varying in size to suitdifferent-sized stocks.

The implement is used as follows: The buds are cut from the limb bymeans of the blade B, the curved portions h removing the bud withouttaking any of the wood with it. This is an important point, for by usingan ordinary knife-blade a portion of the wood of the limb is removedwith the bud, and the wood requires to be afterward detached from thebud, an operation which, even when carefully performed, often 'destroysthe bud, the eye of the latter frequently becoming detached with thewood. The T-shaped incision in the bark of the stock is made by anyofthe blades C C C. The spur (l of the blade is first pressed into thestock, so as to penetrate the bark, and the blade is then drawndownward, the part o of the blade making the vertical out and the spurCZ detaching the bark from the Wood as the blade is drawn downward. Thebud may therefore be readily inserted in the cut or incision made in thebark.

The spur d, it will be seen, performs two functions-to Wit, making theupper transverse cut in the bark and separating the bark from the woodduring the downward movement of the blade and while the latter is makingthe vertical cut.

By this arrangement trees may be very rapidly budded and with greatsuccess. The invention has been practically tested, and trees Y buddedby it have in almost every instance had their buds grow thriftily.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The employment or use of che blade B, structed substantially asshown, and fitted in provided With one or more curved portions b, asuitable handle, the Whole forming a new substantially as shown, for thepurpose of and useful implement, for the purpose Specicutting the budsfrom the limbs. fied.

2. A blade provided with a spur d at its EDWARD D. GIRD. end,substantially as shown, for the purpose RICHARD GIRD. of making theT-shaped incision in the side Witnesses: of the stock to receive thebud. PHILANDER RENAY,

3. The combination of the blades B C, con- F. M. CARRAN.

